Can't Read Between The Line
by Bremonsterrr
Summary: AU, 3 years later. Lucas took an unexpected turn in his life which is revealing him to be a new and "improved" Lucas Scott. Brooke Davis didn't fulfill her dreams either, but fate is about throw them into something they both never expected. Insane twists.
1. Out of the Woods Or Maybe

**SUMMARY: AU, 3 years later. Lucas took an unexpected turn in his life which is revealing him to be a new and "improved" Lucas Scott. Brooke Davis didn't fulfill her dreams either, but fate is about throw them into something they both never expected. Insane twists.**

EEEK! Okay, so this is my first chapter of my first story and I've had this idea for a while now but I never really put the pieces together until tonight when I felt a bit of boredom, but one hell of a lot of muse. Now, for future chapters the story is going to be very graphic with violence, profanity and sex. I think I just heard a few excited screams from Brucasers everywhere. ;3 It was especially hard categorizing this story as well, it is a TAD bit of a Cross-over so you'll have to have seen House of Wax and The Hitcher to get a few parts, but for the most part it will be explained to the best of my ability. May I just take this time to say thank you to anybody who reads and reviews - sooo tell me if you'd like me to continue on or not! I can promise MUCH more Brucas lies ahead. Ah, aren't you excited? x3 ENJOY!

* * *

_"Well I have a question to ask you, but before you give me an answer, I just want you to know there is a point to it, okay?"_

_Lucas looked at her a bit playfully skeptical at first, but managed a nod as he began to chuckle. "Okay."_

_"All right, umm. Imagine a future moment in your life where all your dreams come true. You know, it's the greatest moment in your life and you get to experience it with one person... Who's standing next to you?" Peyton asked with a hopeful smile._

_Putting on a famous broody expression to muse her, his eyes found the court's pavement as interesting sight before he began to grin, "Mmm, Kate Bosworth."_

_"Shut up, I'm serious!" She barked through her own laugh._

_"Ohhh, so am I." His smile spreading across his lips as he brought his head up to look at her tilting her head._

_"Luke, come on! It could be anybody. Your mom, Haley.."_

_From behind the two, a voice interjected. "Your boy Skillz!" He suggested shrugging his shoulders as the two gave him a look before Peyton spoke once again._

_"Who's it gonna be?"_

_Turning back to her, Lucas answered honestly and spoke the one person whose name was tattooed on his heart. "Brooke."_

_

* * *

_

**Three years later...**

Fiancee? Not available. Muse? Non-existent. Friends? Missing in action. Emotion? **Emotion**... define '_emotion_.'

Lucas Scott had drifted so far away from his goal to _become the next best-selling American author. _Nobody, not even his once-was best friend Haley, could have seen this coming. After Peyton turned down his proposal when he surprised her in Los Angeles - which he thought was a pretty damn romantic gesture - things seemed to go downhill from there.

Would he ever_ admit _he went down the path of self-destruction because of **Peyton Sawyer**? Ofcourse not. The love he had for her had faded, just as the scar from Jimmy Edwards' stray bullet on her knee had. But it would not have been a scar, had Lucas not saved Peyton that day. It would have been another body, adding to the canvas of tragedy that Jimmy Edwards began, and Dan Scott ended.

The more he allowed himself to think about everything the two had been through, how hard he **fought, **how many people they _hurt_, and who they hurt - the more time he had to hate himself and the person he let Peyton turn him into. The Lucas Scott she _needed_ him to be, rather than just, plain, Lucas Scott.

He didn't dwell on it anymore. Peyton hadn't crossed his mind since before Ambrose. **Ambrose.**

Post-Peyton, Lucas threw himself into more of the college crowd, meeting new people and branching out rather than crawling back into his tortured writer shell that everybody had gotten so used to him settling into. No, that wasn't going to be Lucas. Not anymore. As he did, he acquired an interesting group of new friends and the shock of a lifetime.

Lucas had a sister. Well.. another sister, aside from Lily.

Her name was Carly, and he met her in his journalism class. She was definitely a goofball, and as their friendship blossomed, she happened to even the _new and improved _Lucas Scott out. Carly brought a sense of calm in the storm whenever his now short temper and impulsive nature decided to make an appearance into their conversations. It was nice to have, but the two also went back and forth over some of the stupidest things.

Displaying their sibling nature before either even knew it. Lucas figured it out one night when the two were comparing notes on their life stories and she had time and time again, mentioned that her real father had been paying off her mother for years to keep quiet about her **little surprise **after a night of passion with the powerful Mayor of a small town in North Carolina.. Tree Hill.

Luke didn't know whether to burst out into laughter or blink, the shock that Dan had fathered three children from three different mothers and had been a shitty father to all of them. _Way to go, Dad._ He shook his head.

A fun weekend road trip to go see a college football game had taken a turn for the worst when the group of friends ended up in an abandoned, off-the-map town by the name of Ambrose. The town was being kept "alive" by two brothers that had presumably directed people off the interstate, murdered them and turned them into waxed artwork.

After escaping the deathly fate that four of their other friends had succumbed to, Lucas and Carly sat in the back of a hospital van. Mentally and physically exhausted, emotionally numb, and injured as the ambulance began to depart the ghost town.

Luke raised his hand to run the pad of his index finger over a cut he had on his temple, instantly grimacing as he hissed. His sister, who had found his shoulder to be quite a comfortable pillow, raised her head attentively and scolded his offending finger with a slight glare as she pushed it away from his skin.

"You keep touching it and it's going to get infected, Luke.." She mumbled up to him as her eyes drifted down to the camera he had taken from the evidence box right before they left. Wondering what story the tape would tell and if they would actually want to witness what it had to show. _Maybe just one of Paige and Blake's sex tapes.. _Carly sported a sad grin at the thought.

Ignoring Carly's warnings, the Scott's hand lowered to please her for a moment before it found a new territory to investigate – the stab wound to his thigh. He moved around the layer of wax that coated his jeans and bit his lower lip as he tried to move the material, soon giving up.

"_Sheriff, ran the St. Claire family through CDIC. Trudy and the doctor didn't have two sons.. they had three._"

Hearing the radios cross to the EMT Driver's, Carly paused at the message and instantly lifted her head up at she spotted an eerily familiar face sitting in the back of a pickup truck. Raising his head, the man who had helped lead her and Wade into the town flashed a bright smile and gave a wave to the fleeing van.

Her mouth agape as she watched helplessly, the view of him getting smaller and smaller before she choked out. "Lucas.." His gaze fell down on her. "There was ano-"

An explosion went off, sending the house and surrounding area where most of the officers were, up in raging flames. The two shaken victims felt the vibration of the earth, and were thrusted forward at the van's abrupt movement, the driver bringing it to a stop. Carly's soft scream somehow more earth-shattering than the explosion to Lucas as he fell to the floor along with her "What the fuck was that!" He shouted.

As if they hadn't been through enough already?

Carly's eyes remained attached to the back window in horror, too afraid to look outside at the damage she was sure the remaining brother had something to deal with. Hearing the passenger door open, Lucas glanced up in time to have a shotgun aimed at his head, the shooter's lips twisting into a sadistic smile while he held tightly onto set of chocolate locks in his fist.

"John Ryder." The man introduced himself almost breathless, his deep, cruel voice earning a small gasp from Carly as her eyes were now going back and forth between the gun he had on Lucas and his hostage that she was unable to see.

"Mind if a pretty girl joins you two?" He asked panting, yanking the head of hair to him as its' owner cried out while he thrusted her in the middle seat between him and the EMT. Lucas instantly felt as if his throat was dry as he met a pair of scared, hazel eyes.

"_Pretty girl.._"


	2. Money Back Guarantee

___**Whatever can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time.**_

_Twisted irony._

"_Pretty girl.."_

The writer's mutter had gone unnoticed as the middle-aged man forced the brunette in the back of the van with the siblings, grumbling as he reached out and grabbed the door, slamming it out of frustration.

Hitting the cold floor of the ambulance, she moaned softly at her bruised body and lifted herself with the help of a strong hand on her shoulder. Lucas' cerulean hues boring into her in a state of shock as Brooke took a seat parallel to Carly and Lucas.

_No, no, no. This has gotta be a nightmare. Brooke? No, she's in New York. She's with her Mom, she's safe. She's not here. _He thought, shaking his head slowly although not tearing his gaze from her.

Her hair looked like it hadn't been washed in a few days, her skin was glistening in a thin coat of perspiration which indicated she had put up a fight to stay away from the man that had joined them. Brooke's arms wrapped comfortably around her petite, yet curvy form.

_She's probably cold_, he concluded, noting that all she had on was a brown tank top and a short, yet equally modest skirt.

Luke parted his lips to speak, to say something – anything to break the chilling silence. Carly's nudge to his side silenced him before he even began, his head turning to look at her face which held a pleading expression, nodding to their new friend in the front seat who had turned his attention to the EMT.

"You're going to keep driving until I say so, alright-" Leaning in to check the stitched name on his jumpsuit. "-Andrew? Just keep driving and.. well," He chuckled so coldly that it sent another chill down Brooke's spine.

Carly noticed and felt a pang of sympathy for whatever the brunette had been through, regardless the hell she had just had to live through the past 24 hours.

"I can't **promise **that nobody will get hurt, but you know.. just do it." John ordered, ignoring the three in the back.

The whole time, Brooke's eyes had submissively locked on the ground. How could this happen to her? She didn't understand and nothing in the world could make her even want to. All the bodies, the blood – the dead police officers at the station that John Ryder had killed, to get to her.

Now here she was, and she felt more terrified than ever knowing somebody she cared so much about was here. But _why? How did Luke end up in the back of this ambulance? What happened to him and why is he covered in wax? Kinky.. who's the strawberry blonde hoe with him? Okay, she looks nice. Scared, but nice. So she's not exactly a hoe. Oh god.. what did you get yourself into, Broody...?_

How her thoughts were sarcastic, she couldn't figure out. But she sat in the silence and let herself simmer in the dry humor – figuring it was better than feeling nothing. All she had felt for three long days.

Two hours passed and not one said a word, except for John who continued to threaten the Paramedic and not let him forget what would happen if he didn't cooperate completely.

Lucas swallowed as he began to shrug his sweatshirt off, Carly watching him with a slight look of interest as Brooke didn't move. She was now staring at her hands, the once soft, supple touch to them was gone as scrapes and cuts graced her palms from the fight she had engaged in to be alive right now.

To be breathing, to be sitting in the presence of Lucas and his friend whose name she hadn't gotten yet. She had no chance to ask in the dead silence, wondering how much time she had left before John got bored and decided to murder them all on the spot. The fighting, the deaths, the fear.. it was all for **nothing.**

Seeing the black fabric being held in front of her, her head picked itself up tiredly to allow her hazel eyes to coast to the jacket. Lucas fought his facial muscles to flash her a weak apologetic smile seeing how she was lightly shivering now. Her eyes finally stared into his tired blue pools. She could tell he was weak and at first was reluctantly in taking the jacket knowing he would eventually get cold, but he was stern and raised his brows at her, eyeing the jacket.

"Take it, Brooke." He whispered huskily. She couldn't help but shudder at his deep voice, the first time she had heard it in over a year. Shortly before Lucas had left for Los Angeles, she and Luke had an all-nighter together. He _didn't_ cheat on Peyton, he didn't have sex with Brooke. It wasn't _that_ kind of an all-nighter.

In a struggle to come up with material for his next book, he spent the night with Brooke as the two brain-stormed and threw situational ideas back and forth, strolling down memory lane for a while as they shared a few glasses of wine.

Realizing he was too intoxicated to drive, he suggested walking home but Brooke insisted he stayed the night with her. She never minded his company and he could never get enough of that Brooke Davis humor. Not to mention she was easy on the eyes, but he was in love with Peyton and Brooke didn't have time for love anyway.

At least not _real _love and not with _Lucas Scott. _As far as she was concerned, she had been there, done that, got the '**I Was A Footnote In The Love Story**' t-shirt. But did Brooke genuinely believe that? She swore to everybody she did, but that didn't mean she _believed_ it, did it?

Inwardly sighing, she reached out and gently took the zip-up hoodie from him and held it against her chest for a minute. She could smell the alluring cologne he wore on it, along with the faint mixture of wax but she didn't mind. Slipping it on, she zipped it up and removed her hair from inside of the jacket so it fell freely on her shoulders.

Brooke attempted to give him the smallest grin of gratitude but it didn't happen, he gave a faint nod of acknowledgment at her attempt. "Thank you." She finally choked out in a hesitant whisper. Carly watched curiously now at their soft interaction and she could see the hard exterior of Lucas Scott melting due to the brunette in the van with them. _I wonder who she is.. _

Furrowing her brows in thought, she put the pieces together. "Brooke." She murmured, unaware that it was loud enough for Lucas and Brooke to hear. The pair gazed to her, interested in what she had to say. Opening her mouth slightly, she shook her head and gave a sheepish grin. "I just, by the way Luke talked about you and your appearance-"

"You recognized me by my greasy hair, split ends, dirty clothes and random cuts?" Brooke asked sarcastically in a soft tone, turning to Lucas. "What have you been telling people about me, Luke?" Narrowing her eyes at him, he caught her humor and felt warm inside – making him oblivious to the draft circulating through the ambulance.

He didn't have time to reply before for the second time today the car came to a sudden hault.

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!" John roared, aiming the shotgun at the nervous EMT's temple. "Go out and check. NOW!" Carly flinched at his yelling, but Brooke seemed almost content aside from her slight wince. The air seemed to thicken as the Paramedic reasoned gently.

"We- It- It's raining, sir." He stuttered out, "It's probably just the-" A sudden shot caused the hostages to jump, Lucas was the first to pick his head up to see the blood splatter against the drivers' side window, staring breathlessly as his hand came up to cover Carly's right eye and pull her head into his chest to shield her from the gruesome sight.

"Now.." John began with a groan, digging deep in his pocket to take out a cloth. Scooting over to wipe the blood off the window. "Why can't everybody just listen to me? **I'm** the one with the shotgun, I'm the one with the **fucking** power." He talked to himself, setting the gun on the passenger seat as he tended to cleaning up the steering wheel.

Sitting up, Lucas' eyes set on the shotgun then quickly focused on John as he was preoccupied. _This is fucking crazy.. _It was now or never, he didn't know if they'd get this kind of chance again. Feeling fingers on his wrist, he looked over. It was Brooke, whispering. "Luke.. be careful."

He nodded slightly, shrugging Carly off of his other arm as he slowly moved towards the front of the van and crouched, shutting his eyes tightly as he gathered up the courage and thrust himself into the front seat, his hands frantically grabbing for the shotgun.

A pair of fast hands fought for the weapon as well as the men grunted, Lucas soon being pinned underneath Ryder as he pushed the length of the gun to the Scott's throat, making him choke as his hands forcefully pushed back.

"Get off of him!" He heard Carly's scream as his head started to feel heavy, but suddenly – everything stopped as he felt a sharp mist. His eyes fluttered open, not remembering he had even closed them. Taking in the sight, he inhaled desperately to get the oxygen flowing to his brain once again.

A scalpel had been jammed into Ryder's neck, breaking his windpipe at the force – which sent a lovely spatter of blood to Lucas' shirt and the bottom of his chin.

Lucas pushed the body off of him and scooted back against the passenger seat holding the shotgun close to him. His eyes coasted to his left where Brooke was leaning over the seat, panting with a desperate expression on her angelic face. Carly right beside her, fixated on the still body.

They all stayed just like that for twenty minutes although in their circumstance, it seemed like forever. Carly glanced to Brooke beside her and drew in a breath, "Hi. Carly." She introduced herself, which caused Brooke and Lucas' laugh.

"Nice to meet you. Horrible circumstances to meet under, but ya know.. what can you do?"

Ten minutes later, Lucas had thrown Ryder's body out to the side of the road and was glaring down at him while the rain fell when Brooke came up behind him with the shotgun Lucas had risked his life to get a hold of. She took a step towards John's body.

Lucas snaked his hands around her waist, his fingertips brushing against the bottom of the sweatshirt formerly known as 'his' until they grazed her skin. "He's dead, Brooke.." He spoke into the shell of her ear, causing goosebumps to spread down her body.

"I want some kind of money-back guarantee, Luke." Brooke said dryly, her tone cold yet pleading as she stared at the gun. Lucas swallowed and shook his head, staring out into the woods trying to come up with something to say to change her mind.

"Brooke, if you do this you'll become just like-" The "lifeless" body jolted up to grab Brooke's legs and knock them out from under her as she screamed, the gun sliding away on the wet pavement of the road. Reacting, Lucas went to run towards John but slipped on the slippery surface, bumping his head as he did.

Screaming out as his rough hands wrapped around her throat and squeezed tighter and tighter – the second shot of the day rang out as the back of the hitcher's head ceased to exist. Brooke urgently pushed the body off of her and looked over to Carly panting as she held the shotgun.

"How's that for a guarantee?"

* * *

Okay, so here's the second chapter. A bit of action along with a few brief, cute Brucas moments. Now just because John Ryder is dead, that doesn't mean the struggle is over! I'll just say that. xD I'd like to take the time out to thank everybody that reviewed the first chapter and the people who have saved this story to their story alerts! I can't tell you all how good it feels to know your writing is appreciated and that people want to read more. I know for the most part where I'm going to take this Fanfiction and in the future you may see new characters as well so throughout the story you won't get bored - I promise you! Also if there is something you'd like to see, feel free to PM me about it! Again, a HUUUGE THANK YOU to everybody who reviews andddd.. yeah, just thank you again. :3 I look forward to unraveling this story with you all and seeing where BL(And Carly) will go from here! -Bre.


	3. I Come To You In Pieces

"_...I just wish you could rescue me."_

"_From what?" He asked quickly in confusion, his eyes being captivated in the conflict hers held. How vulnerable she looked in that moment, she held more grace then he could ever dream of. Lucas never wanted to let that go._

_Brooke spoke softly, "From **all **of it." As he gazed into her eyes, he made a silent vow to himself before he paused and parted his lips._

"_I will..." Breaking their eye contact, the start of a cheeky smile formed at the corner of his lips while his hand cupped her left one and began to run the pad of his index finger along the lines of her palm. "..if you promise to rescue me back."_

_A small, content grin made it's way onto her features as she still gazed lovingly up at him. "I promise." She whispered, drawing his attention back down to her admirably._

_Pulling his right hand from stroking her soft skin, he gently rested his index and thumb finger on her chin to crane her head over to him as their lips met in a liplock so gentle and meaningful, one that sealed their promise to each other._

_

* * *

_"I will.." Brooke and Carly, who were on the edge of the bed striking up conversation, suddenly stopped short to look over at Lucas as he mumbled and gave a groggy groan as he was waking up.

He wasn't what one would consider a peach to interact with right when he woke up, and he especially wasn't going to be now, having been torn from his dreams as he let the memories wash over him. Sadly wishing it was reality.

Crawling up higher on the bed, the brunette hovered over him so when he opened his eyes, he was greeted with a warm smile that reached her eyes as the now emerald hues lit up and illuminated the soft glow about her that Lucas admired so much.

"Hey there, gorgeous." Her raspy voice sent a quick shiver down his spine that he wasted no time in mumbling a soft 'hi' up at her. Feeling her now dry, clean chocolate locks brush across his forehead, he started to grin as he sat up slowly and looked around the room in a state of confusion.

The trio were in a hotel room and from what he could tell, it was really nice and spacious. A suite if he didn't know better. There was a rich cream and maroon color palette throughout the lavish bedroom that continued out to the lounge area which led to the second bedroom parallel to the one they were all in at the moment.

"H–How did I get here?" He asked hesitantly as he felt the throbbing return to the back of his head. As if Brooke could sense the pain, her fingertips ran over the sore area comfortingly, grazing against his stubble he had for hair.

"Well, there's this awesome thing that we like to call a 'car' and it's a means for transp–" Carly started sarcastically, trailing off as the Scott gave her a cross look of unamusement, taking note how she looked like she had just gotten out of the shower and wrapped a robe around her form. "You slipped and fell on wet pavement. Bumped your head trying to save Snow White over here."

As it hit him, he asked a bit more frantic and concern draining the color in his face. "Where's John? Is he–"

"Dead." Brooke interrupted with a nod. "That's the last time you try to be the knight in shining armor, Luke. You can't become the next best American author if you're dead!" Pausing, "Well, okay. So that's not _completely_ true. Didn't Shakespeare, Steinback and that Emerson guy get popular after they were all corpsey?"

Lucas opened his mouth to answer her question, but quietly dismissed it, citing rhetorical fashion as she continued. "But what are the chances of what happening? Don't get me wrong, you're a great writer – reference 'An Unkindness of Ravens' – but what–"

"Steinbeck." He corrected in the middle of her rant, flashing her a smile. Her head tilted in confusion, not catching her mistake, well – one of several. "The writer, his name was Steinbeck.."

As their eyes began entranced once again, there was a long silence which Carly felt awkward to be in the middle of. Clearing her throat softly, she pushed her petite form from the bed and gestured over her shoulder to her bedroom.

"I'm gonna.. go lay down _aaaaand_ I'll let you two have some time alone. Obviously, there's a lot you have to catch up on so.. _try_ not to be too loud, please and thank you!" Raising her brows with a bright smile, the strawberry blonde made her way across the suite into her bedroom and shut the door behind her.

Hardly noticing his sister's departure until he heard the door shut, he glanced across the room to stare at the door before focusing back on Brooke who was laying on her side against the pillows, letting her legs dangle off the side of the bed.

He finally got a better view of her. Her skin looked refreshed and her hair had obviously been washed and conditioned, it's natural luster made obvious as the tresses fell in gentle waves on her shoulders, a few delicate pieces framing her face. From just a foot and a half away from her, he could smell the enticing body wash she had used which he could tell was an alluring lavender.

She had on a new pair of light-washed jeans that complemented every curve to her lower half perfectly and wore a thin burgundy cotton long-sleeve. Lucas didn't have to ask where she got the money to afford all this – the hotel, the clothes – he knew without having to say anything. Her mother.

The last Lucas had heard, Victoria and Brooke were trying to launch Brooke's company into couture and Brooke wasn't comfortable with the idea, knowing she would eventually have to conform to what the 'fashion experts' would want. The whole point of Clothes Over Bros was for Brooke to be behind the clothes – not a team of designers.

Long story short, Brooke diverged her interests in the company and took what was hers before signing it over to Victoria and her business pals. It wasn't something she wanted to do, but in the long run, she saw it for what it was. She may have lost a company, but she kept her dignity and creativity, along with a substantial amount of money she had put in the bank.

Brooke felt his eyes on her and cleared her throat softly, nodding to the other bedroom. "She's cute. Really geeky in the completely adorable 'I want to pinch your cheeks' kind of way, but I like her!"

"Carly?" He smiled, speaking shortly. "Yeah, she's pretty awesome." Chuckling under his breath as his eyes dropped down to his lap, catching the first drift of awkward into the conversation. Why was it like this? This was Brooke Davis he was talking to, they had history. They could carry on about a subject for hours, why was this time different?

"Think she looks like me?" Luke asked suddenly, turning his head back to Brooke who looked just as puzzled as the next guy. Under the assumption it must have come up in the conversation she shared with Carly, he soon dropped his shoulders once he tuned in and realized that she didn't have the faintest idea what he was talking about.

Chuckling slightly, "She's my sister."

Staring at the writer with an incredulous brow, shock and sarcasm in a life-or-death fight over her tone. "W-Wait.. there's.. she's.." Stumbling over her words as her brain tried to register what he had just told her. _Another Scott? _

"Yeah, Dan's." He laughed rolling onto his back, peering up at her with a smirk. Lucas began filling her in on the history, how he figured it out and at the end, the brunette concluded with a grin.

"Well it's a good thing she's hot. I'm running out of Scott men, so it's good to know I have another option!" She joked, beaming as the back of her hand hit Lucas' chest as he laughed with her. Soon narrowing his eyes in a playfully skeptic manner. From the sex tape in highschool, he had enough images of her with his brother.

The duo stayed up talking for another hour, laughing about light subjects then reaching out in the serious conversations. There was a lot to Brooke's life that Lucas had missed out on and he could only frown regrettably as she explained what she had been up to and how life had been treating her.

There was one bit of information that broke his heart though and he couldn't help but continuously redirect their talk back to the subject. Brooke was told she wasn't able to have children. A new kind of devastation hit him, and to be honest, he was almost positive the last time he felt his heart hurting this bad was after Keith's murder.

"You would've been an amazing mom, Brooke." He whispered to her, frowning as he saw her beginning to tear – but in Brooke Davis fashion, she held it in and tried to laugh it off. But he saw past that, and into the pain buried deep inside of that amazing heart of hers.

The same heart he'd broken many times before, the one he admired her for and the one she loved him with. He didn't understand how she managed to keep it together, especially after she pushed everybody away. After she pushed _him_ away and he didn't fight her. No, he had to be too wrapped up in Peyton Sawyer.

How differently he would've done things..

His thumb brushed across her cheek as it made itself a barrier to the single tear that had slipped from her moss-colored eye, not expecting the words that rolled off her tongue. "I forgive you."

The three words had left him speechless as he became lost in her eyes and his mind went blank. _What did she just say? _He couldn't have heard her right. He had a feeling what she'd be referring to – but she did? In times of her vulnerability, Brooke tended to pour her heart out when it came to feelings she kept inside.

She wore her heart on her sleeve, she always had..

* * *

_"There are 82 letters in here, and they're all addressed to you... I wrote them all this summer. One a day, but I never sent them 'cause I was afraid." She shrugged slightly as the tears continued to escape her eyes. _

_'Don't cry, Pretty girl..' Lucas parted his lips as he looked down at the box then back up at the heartbroken brunette he loved so much. "Brooke..."_

_"I was afraid of getting my heart broken again, like before." Drawing in a quick breath, "Cause you hurt me so bad, and I was afraid to be vulnerable. And I was afraid of you and the way that you make me feel.. and I know that doesn't matter now after what I did, but I just thought that you should know." _

_Hesitantly letting her tear-blurred eyes fall on the box of letters before bringing her attention back on Lucas. "This was how I spent my summer, Luke. Wanting you... I'm just too scared to admit it."

* * *

_

Overwhelmed by her words, he ran his finger over her cheek once again trying to come up with the right words to say, the struggle only frustrating him more. Why was this such a big deal? It's not like she told him she loved him or something.

But he had to expect the worst at what he came up with, "And I love you." His eyes burned through her as she hung on his every word and _those_ words weren't what she was expecting. After a long moment passed, he realized the rushed nature of the situation and chuckled. "I hit my head, huh?"

He tried to play it off and blame it on the trauma that had in the blink of an eye 'overcome' him, shaking his head as the designer's gaze didn't tear from him – but didn't do anything to diffuse the situation either.

"You rescued me.." She said sheepishly, coming to terms with all of it. In the past and more recently within the fight of their lives. How fate had manipulated their paths to cross again, both coming to one another in pieces.

Swallowing hard, he remained fixated on the gorgeous woman in sheer awe. "I promised you I would.." He whispered.

It seemed crazy to think that in that moment in time, through all of it; the pain, heartache, betrayl to the bliss, happiness and perfection – **Brooke Davis** & **Lucas Scott** fell _in __love_ with each other _all over_ again.

"And I love you for that, Broody.." Tears filled up to the brim in her eyes as she purred up to him "And, I also really love you." She spoke, choking back the bubbling in the back of her throat as a few tears trickled down her cheeks against her will.

Letting out a sharp breath he didn't know he had been holding in, "I love you too, Pretty girl." In one swift movement he fused his lips to hers in an urgently deep kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss.

His arms wrapped protectively around her curvy form, one hand sliding down her body to rest on top of her thigh as she maneuvered her lower half invitingly. Lucas didn't dare think of breaking the kiss as he silently agreed and nestled himself comfortably between her thighs.

His tongue prodded her lips and begged for entry into her mouth that she quickly granted with a moan that shortly after broke the kiss as he stared down at her. Her usually soft hazel eyes were a darker green now, clouded with lust.

Her 'bedroom' eyes, as he liked to refer to them as, made his body instantly react as he pulled back, but not before placing a quick peck to her kiss-swollen lips. Lucas' hand that had become well acquainted with the top of her thigh moved to run the pad of his thumb over her centre through her jeans she sadly still had on.

Brooke's first whimper caused Luke to bite his lip and fight the urge to come right then. If only the two could anticipate the silent struggle going on in the other room...

* * *

AHHH! Okay, what do you think? Love it, hate it? Want to see more Brucas lovin? Well, I'll be happy to tell you that it will continue in the next Chapter. ;] At first, I wasn't too pleased with this chapter and that's why I'm uploading it so late today. I had to go back and change a few things and then I felt it was best to throw in the flashbacks from 3x09 and 3x17. You probably already have questions and are thinking how Brooke's random 'I forgive you' is, as well as Lucas' sudden 'I love you' - but it will ALL be explained and elaborated on in future chapter. This one is a bit slow so not that much action (unless you count the very brief end) but you can start to brew in your mind some ideas of what it to come, what's going on in the other room and what happens with Brucas! Again, thanks everybody for reading and tolerating this mess, that is me trying to write a last note while I'm exhausted. xD Please Review! -Bre.


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